The fight over former National Security Adviser John Bolton’s forthcoming book could drag on for months and keep the manuscript bottled up, Politico is reporting.
The manuscript has sparked a battle with President Donald Trump over classified information as National Security Council (NSC) lawyers try to determine what Bolton can reveal from his tenure at the White House.
A top NSC official, in a letter dated Jan. 23, told Bolton’s lawyer that the manuscript “appears to contain significant amounts of classified information” and could not be published as written.
The New York Times reported that Bolton claims in the manuscript that Trump’s hold on military aid to Ukraine last summer was linked to demands that Ukraine investigate former Vice President Joe Biden and other Democrats.
Bolton’s reported claims are key to Trump’s impeachment trial and could politicize the fight and lead to a lengthy legal challenge, Politico reported.
In theory, the president’s lawyers could keep a lid on Bolton’s manuscript until past the presidential election in November, according to Politico.
“If everyone were acting in good faith, it might perhaps be possible to resolve the classification issues in a reasonable amount of time, possibly a few weeks,” said Steve Aftergood, who directs the Federation of American Scientists’ Project on Government Secrecy. “If people are not acting in good faith, the disputes could linger for months or longer.”
And Brad Moss, a national security lawyer, says he’s seen the entire process and ensuing battles take years to complete.
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
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